Read Online Swimming Sweet Arrow by Maureen Gibbon - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Maureen Gibbon
Ads: Link
counter.
I said, “What, don’t you like it?”
“I like it.”
“Why aren’t you wearing it, then?”
“I do wear it. I guess I’m getting used to it.”
“Is it an engagement ring?” I said. “Is that what he wants?”
“It’s not an engagement ring.”
“What, it’s just a gift?”
“Just a gift.”
But it didn’t make any sense. If the ring was just a gift, she wouldn’t have to get used to it, and if June liked it, she would be wearing it on her hand and would have showed it to me first thing I walked in the door.
“What are you getting used to?” I said.
“I don’t know. I guess I have to get used to how much he loves me.”
The way she said it, I knew she was lying. About what piece of it, I couldn’t say. Maybe she and Ray were fighting and she wasn’t saying, or maybe it was something else. I didn’t know. But June knew I could tell she was lying, and I figured over the course of our conversation or over the Jim Beam, she’d spill the deal.
“I hemmed up all my skirts again,” I said, to change the subject for a while and give the conversation room to breathe.
“Weren’t they already short?”
“Well, they’re shorter now,” I said. “I did it for tips.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you really get the big tippers at Dreisbach’s.”
Of course, it was the whiskey kicking in, but we laughed about that, and it felt good to laugh with her. I was glad we were not talking about rings and the like.
“Naw, really I did it for me,” I said. “I wanted to see my own legs. You know?”
“I know.”
And I knew she did understand. The kind of jobs we had, you couldn’t ever really dress up, because the work would tear apart any kind of outfit, but you had to take some kind of care of yourself, because if you didn’t, you got to feeling bad about yourself. After an eight-hour shift, my hair was coated with grease from the kitchen and smelled of french fries and cigarette smoke, but at least I could look down and see the shape of my legs. With all the lifting and walking I was doing, muscles in my thighs were getting hard. Right beside the long muscle in my thigh was a little hollow. I liked seeing the shadow and shape, and I liked being at work and being able to think of the way Del’s face looked when he kissed me there.
June poured me another three fingers of Jim Beam and asked how everything was going with Del, but before I had a chance to say, “He’s smoking and drinking every penny he earns,” the dogs started howling and she went out to quiet them.
When she came back, she seemed to forget that she had asked me about Del.
“You want to know Ray’s theory about the ring?” she said.
“Go.”
“He says it’s all in my hands. He says he’ll marry me whenever I say.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, what do you say when he asks you about it?”
“He doesn’t ever ask me. He says it’s like a puppy. He says if you squeeze a puppy, the puppy runs away. If you let the puppy alone, it comes.”
“And you’re the puppy.”
“I’m the one he’s trying not to squeeze.”
I thought giving a girl a ring was a pretty hard squeeze, but worse was Ray trying to use dog mentality on her. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t say anything, though. It wasn’t mine to say. Besides, I still felt like there was something she wasn’t being honest about.
“What are you going to do about the ring?” I asked.
Before she could answer, Ray’s brother, Luke, walked in the room. I knew he lived there, too, but it was still a surprise to see him. He was never around those times when Del and I parried with Ray and June, and in my mind I blocked him out. I knew nothing about Luke—he had graduated before June and I even got to high school. He was an animal I knew by sight only in that corral of a town. He looked a lot like Ray—light skin and the almost-black hair—but he was thinner and his face was hawklike. Guys Iwent to school with got
I said, “What, don’t you like it?”
“I like it.”
“Why aren’t you wearing it, then?”
“I do wear it. I guess I’m getting used to it.”
“Is it an engagement ring?” I said. “Is that what he wants?”
“It’s not an engagement ring.”
“What, it’s just a gift?”
“Just a gift.”
But it didn’t make any sense. If the ring was just a gift, she wouldn’t have to get used to it, and if June liked it, she would be wearing it on her hand and would have showed it to me first thing I walked in the door.
“What are you getting used to?” I said.
“I don’t know. I guess I have to get used to how much he loves me.”
The way she said it, I knew she was lying. About what piece of it, I couldn’t say. Maybe she and Ray were fighting and she wasn’t saying, or maybe it was something else. I didn’t know. But June knew I could tell she was lying, and I figured over the course of our conversation or over the Jim Beam, she’d spill the deal.
“I hemmed up all my skirts again,” I said, to change the subject for a while and give the conversation room to breathe.
“Weren’t they already short?”
“Well, they’re shorter now,” I said. “I did it for tips.”
“Yeah, ‘cause you really get the big tippers at Dreisbach’s.”
Of course, it was the whiskey kicking in, but we laughed about that, and it felt good to laugh with her. I was glad we were not talking about rings and the like.
“Naw, really I did it for me,” I said. “I wanted to see my own legs. You know?”
“I know.”
And I knew she did understand. The kind of jobs we had, you couldn’t ever really dress up, because the work would tear apart any kind of outfit, but you had to take some kind of care of yourself, because if you didn’t, you got to feeling bad about yourself. After an eight-hour shift, my hair was coated with grease from the kitchen and smelled of french fries and cigarette smoke, but at least I could look down and see the shape of my legs. With all the lifting and walking I was doing, muscles in my thighs were getting hard. Right beside the long muscle in my thigh was a little hollow. I liked seeing the shadow and shape, and I liked being at work and being able to think of the way Del’s face looked when he kissed me there.
June poured me another three fingers of Jim Beam and asked how everything was going with Del, but before I had a chance to say, “He’s smoking and drinking every penny he earns,” the dogs started howling and she went out to quiet them.
When she came back, she seemed to forget that she had asked me about Del.
“You want to know Ray’s theory about the ring?” she said.
“Go.”
“He says it’s all in my hands. He says he’ll marry me whenever I say.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, what do you say when he asks you about it?”
“He doesn’t ever ask me. He says it’s like a puppy. He says if you squeeze a puppy, the puppy runs away. If you let the puppy alone, it comes.”
“And you’re the puppy.”
“I’m the one he’s trying not to squeeze.”
I thought giving a girl a ring was a pretty hard squeeze, but worse was Ray trying to use dog mentality on her. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t say anything, though. It wasn’t mine to say. Besides, I still felt like there was something she wasn’t being honest about.
“What are you going to do about the ring?” I asked.
Before she could answer, Ray’s brother, Luke, walked in the room. I knew he lived there, too, but it was still a surprise to see him. He was never around those times when Del and I parried with Ray and June, and in my mind I blocked him out. I knew nothing about Luke—he had graduated before June and I even got to high school. He was an animal I knew by sight only in that corral of a town. He looked a lot like Ray—light skin and the almost-black hair—but he was thinner and his face was hawklike. Guys Iwent to school with got
Similar Books
